Top cop takes on prosecutor in Taegrin case
Reiger Park deserves to know why the charges were dropped, he says
THE PROSECUTOR who withdrew charges against the man accused of involvement in the death of 4-yearold Taegrin Morris must explain his reasons for doing so.
Gauteng police commissioner Lesetja Mothiba made the call yesterday in Reiger Park, Boksburg.
Mothiba was briefing the media at a ceremony to celebrate an International Men’s Day campaign following the community’s outrage over the case.
“I am very upset where I am standing. I wish the prosecutor was here to tell the community exactly why he withdrew the case. “It was never about the quality of police or poor investigations,” he said, adding that an interview by the prosecutor with Taegrin’s mother may have resulted in the prosecutor deciding not to proceed with the case.
Charges against Thamsanqa Twala were withdrawn at the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
This is the same courtroom in which charges against Zamokuhle Mbatha, the man accused of killing Senzo Meyiwa, were withdrawn last Tuesday.
Twala was accused of being involved in the death of Taegrin, who died when he was dragged along the road during a hijacking in Ekurhuleni.
Yesterday, Mothiba dismissed the allegation that Twala’s case was withdrawn due to poor investigations.
“We are taking the matter further with the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng. The matter is being reviewed. Anything is possible,” he said.
“Police had worked on the case from day one. The fact that he (Twala) was arrested for another hijacking (with further investigations linking him to this case), the mother identified him in an identity parade, and that the case was placed on the roll shows that the police did everything that needed to be done.”
Mothiba was attending the campaign in Reiger Park together with Gauteng Social Development MEC Faith Mazibuko to tackle issues that affect men and boys globally.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube said in a phone interview the matter was withdrawn due to irregularities in the identity parade.
According to Mncube, the complainant in the matter had told the police she was unable to identify the accused. The investigating officer was also not meant to have conducted the parade.
Yesterday, Mazibuko called on police to do their job efficiently.
Taegrin’s father Elwin Morris and Cuburne Lavone van Wyk’s father, Elroy Peterson, were among those attending the event.
Cuburne’s body was discovered at a mine dump in Reiger Park a few days after he disappeared on August 6. He had been playing outside with his siblings before his disappearance.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura is expected to visit the Reiger Park community on Monday.